Widow’s Increased Mesothelioma Verdict Upheld by South Carolina Supreme Court
It’s unusual, but not unheard of, for a judge to increase the award given to a mesothelioma victim. It’s what happened in the case involving the death of Beverly “Dale” Jolly of South Carolina. When the asbestos companies sued by his widow objected to being ordered to pay more than the jury decided, they appealed the decision. When they lost at the appellate level, they took their argument to the state’s Supreme Court, but they lost there too.
Original Mesothelioma Award Did Not Reflect Damages Presented in Court
While many defendants settled out of court with the mesothelioma victim and his family, Fisher Controls International, LLC, and Crosby Valve, LLC did not. The jury heard evidence that Mr. Jolly’s mesothelioma was caused by asbestos exposure during his years working for Duke Power Company and found the two companies guilty. However, their verdict was accompanied by extremely low damages of just $200,000 for Mr. Jolly and $100,000 for Mrs. Jolly. Determining that those awards did not reflect the harm Mr. Jolly had suffered, the judge overseeing the cases adjusted the verdict to significantly higher amounts.
The judge’s significant increase of mesothelioma damages to $1,580,000 for Mr. Jolly and $290,000 to Mrs. Jolly provoked an appeal from the asbestos companies. When the appeals court upheld the trial judge’s decision, they took their argument to the South Carolina Supreme Court, which also held that the trial court judge had acted within the scope of what is reasonable.
Verdict in Mesothelioma Cases Must Be Reasonable
Over the objections of the asbestos companies, the justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court’s review of the case noted that when a trial court judge determines that a verdict is either excessive or inadequate, they can offer to order a new trial, and if that offer is rejected, they can change the jury’s award. Their review showed that the trial judge’s decision was reasonable and left the victim’s new award in place.
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